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What is in Your Hands?

Back and forth they went. Moses protesting that he was not the right man for the job. God insisting Moses was the one to lead His people to freedom. After several excuses given by Moses, we see this exchange,

Then the Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied. – Exodus 4:2 NLT

That staff was nothing more than a stick to prod sheep and other animals. But on this day, it would become a tool God would use to prod Moses and change the course of his life. In fact, after God performed a miracle by turning the staff into a snake before turning it back into a staff, Moses referred to it as the “staff of God.” (Exodus 4:20)

Moses’ brother Aaron also had a staff God would eventually use to perform various miracles in order to get the attention of Pharaoh in Egypt.

Again, the staff is basically a stick most-likely made of wood from an almond tree. But it becomes something mighty when God anoints it for His use.

Samson used a donkey jawbone to slay a thousand men. Trust me, apart from the power of God, I doubt Samson would have been able to take even two men out with that jawbone.

David used his sling and a small, smooth stone to defeat Goliath. Without the power of God, I’m not sure if a sling and stone would have taken down a nine-foot giant.

In John 6:9, we read about a young boy who had five loaves of bread and two fish. Andrew said it well, “But what good is that with this huge crowd?” In the hands of Jesus, that meager offering was more than enough to feed a hungry horde.

In Matthew 26:6, we read about a woman who poured an alabaster jar of expensive perfume over the head of Jesus. Though many criticized this as wasteful, Jesus had nothing but praise for this woman’s lavish gift. Her act of worship is still being recognized nearly two-thousand years later.

We all have something in our hands. When we release it, God releases His blessing and uses it for His glory. This is a concept of stewardship and doing the things God has shown you to do no matter how small.

Jesus uses a parable about talents (things in our hands) to teach a lesson on stewardship and sums it up with these powerful words,

“To those who use well what they are given, even more, will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.” - Matthew 25:29 (NLT)

Here are a few examples of using what we have in our hands…

A few years ago, we needed thousands of dollars for our condo down payment. God reminded us that we still had some copies of Shelley’s Brush Strokes lettering workbook in stock. After deciding to put together bundles and promote them to our email list, we made about $1000.

One of our Book Marketing Momentum clients heard Shelley share this story and realized she also had some books in stock. She decided to offer a small number of bundles and sold all 14 in just a few days.

A pastor began doing a simple Galatians study with a few members of his congregation in the basement of their church. With his extensive grasp of Greek and Hebrew, he would paraphrase each study in a fresh way they could understand. Eventually, his editor received some of these lessons and wondered if he could do this with the whole bible. After twenty years of work, Eugene Peterson completed what we know as The Message bible.

What do you already have set in place? What relationships do you have? What have you already written and/or created?

Who knows what God could accomplish with that simple thing you hold in your hands.

“Father, I give you full permission to use those things I currently have in order to bring glory and honor to Your name. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”